THE Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) will host the Senior Inter-County Tournament, after an absence of over five (5) years, from October 9 to 15.
According to a press release from GCB yesterday, the tournament was played annually for decades until the introduction of a local franchise league during the 2014-2015 season.

“This league was conducted under the stewardship of the previous GCB executives, whose decision to abort the hosting of the Senior Inter-County Tournament was not accepted by most stakeholders, the majority of whom demanded the return of Senior Inter-County Tournaments.

These included but are not limited to several Players, Coaches, Managers, Cricket Development Officers, and Administrators at the various levels of the domestic organisation cricket structure,” the release stated.
The release went on to say, although international players generally earn their spots on the respective national teams, availability and performances in coveted Inter-County Tournaments have been promoted as the primary means for national selection.

The GCB further stated that under the local franchise league, team composition and the operationalization of the league deviated from the valuable County Structure and deprived many players of the opportunity to play on this platform.

“The Senior Inter-County Tournament at a moment in time was considered first-class cricket and several stakeholders are of the view that the conduct of such a premier tournament should remain part and parcel of the GCB’s core business objectives.”

According to GCB president Bissoondyal Singh, “the GCB can ill afford to play franchise leagues in place of the Inter-County Tournament. Both the Cricket Administration Act, 2014, and the constitution of the Guyana Cricket Board give the County Boards supremacy over other cricket associations, committees, and potential legal franchises.

As a result, the GCB holds the view that Senior Inter-County Cricket must be played annually regardless of the existence of additional tournaments which can be used to feed players into our coveted Inter-County Tournament.

It is against this backdrop that we have outlined in our 5-Year Strategic Plan the need to conduct Inter-County Championship Tournaments for all levels of cricket where there are CWI Regional Tournaments.”“Our aim at the GCB is to administer cricket in an impartial manner, giving opportunities to all those who participate in the game across the depth and breadth of Guyana.”
The finals of the GCB One-Day 50 Overs Tournament will be played at the Albion Community Centre ground under floodlights.